Nursing homes (sometimes known by other names, such as “care facilities” and “care homes”) are residential facilities that provide around-the-clock nursing care for elderly people (“residents,” or “patients”). Most residents have health issues that require regular attention. Many residents have limited mobility, and are prone to falls. Some residents suffer from communication deficits or dementia.
In a care facility, residents can be attended by nurses, nursing assistants, other caregivers, supervisors, and a variety of other staff. Such staff can be assigned based on the particular health needs of individual residents; a physical area of the facility in which each resident primarily resides; or on a variety of other bases.
Conventionally, some residents are monitored to determine when they leave their beds, such as residents who are prone to falls. When such a resident's weight leaves the mattress on their bed, an analog pressure switch opens, causing an attached monitor device to emit a loud alarm in the resident's room intended to alert a staff member that the resident has left their bed, and may be at risk of a fall. The alarm may continue until a staff member arrives to check on the resident and cancels the alarm.